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The Tribune

Volume:117 No.73, MARCH 6TH, 2020

Established 1903

Weekend

THE PEOPLE’S PAPER: $1

WEEKEND: SO MUCH SENSE TO BE JANE AUSTEN FAN

Border tightens on virus nations

•Italy, South Korea and Iran added to restricted list •Airline boss voices concern for flights operating overseas • Embassy officials suggest China ‘back to normal’ end-April

SEE PAGE EIGHT

BPL’S NEW CHARGE HIT

BY DELAY

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net BAHAMAS Power & Light’s (BPL) mammoth refinancing has been further delayed by the need to alter its enabling legislation to better protect investors, a Cabinet minister revealed yesterday.

Desmond Bannister, minister of works, disclosed to Tribune Business that The Bahamas must make “one or two small tweaks” to the Electricity Rate Reduction Bond Act that was passed

by Parliament in late 2019 in response to global capital markets feedback.

FULL STORY - SEE BUSINESS

By KHRISNA RUSSELL Tribune Chief Reporter krussell@tribunemedia.net

However, Bahamian citizens and residents coming from Italy, South Korea and Iran will be subject to quarTHE government has antine for a maximum of 14 implemented new border days. control and quarantine This new restriction measures for people trav- means that a travel ban and elling to the quarantine country from measures are Italy, South now being Korea and applied to Iran – where four juristhere is a dictions, prevalence of including novel coroChina. It is navirus cases, also part of the the Ministry of government’s ForeignAffairs enhanced announced effort to yesterday. address the As a result TOURISM Minister Dionisio public health and with D’Aguilar said he was not threat that overly concerned about a immediate COVID-19 drop in tourism from the afeffect, any poses. fected destinations. non-BahaNonmian resident residents who has visited any of the currently en route to The three countries in the last 20 Bahamas from these jurisdays will be denied entry to dictions will be subjected to The Bahamas, a statement SEE PAGE THREE from the ministry said.

BLOW A WHISTLE TO MARK ARRIVAL OF SILLY SEASON

GB PROJECTS TO RAISE $63M IN EXIT LEVIES

By NEIL HARTNELL Tribune Business Editor nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

TEACHER’S PET?

HIGH school teachers got to have a close encounter with dolphins during a workshop held at Blue Lagoon Island. See page two for the full story.

A CABINET minister yesterday said “stop focusing on the peanuts” as he revealed that the cruise lines’ Freeport projects will generate $63m in annual taxes from just one revenue stream.

Dionisio D’Aguilar, Minister of Tourism, said it was “impossible to put a negative spin” on the Grand Lucayan’s sale to ITM/ Royal Caribbean.

FULL STORY - SEE BUSINESS

ONE PERSON FAILS TO SUBMIT DISCLOSURE

By KHRISNA RUSSELL Tribune Chief Reporter krussell@tribunemedia.net THE Public Disclosures Commission has written to the prime minister and leader of the official opposition revealing that one official has failed to file an asset disclosure.

PDC chairman Myles Laroda confirmed yesterday that he sent and signed the letters giving a summary of submissions,

extensions and a failure to disclose.

However, he declined to reveal who did not satisfy the legal requirement.

“I have written and sent both letters to the prime minister and the leader of the opposition so they would have all of the information with regards to who disclosed, who were late and who asked for extensions,” Mr Laroda said.

“It was single digits for those who asked for

extensions or who would have been late and that is a combination of members of Parliament and senators.

“A lot of them would have disclosed and a few were late. The rest were granted extensions and then there is one (that falls in the category of) other,” he also said.

Official Opposition Leader Philip “Brave” Davis said all Progressive Liberal Party officials

Nassau & Bahama Islands’ Leading Newspaper

SEE PAGE FIVE

NOW WE MUST FACE THE CONSEQUENCES

SEE PAGE TEN

PAGE 2, Friday, March 6, 2020

THE TRIBUNE

TEACHERS MEET THE DOLPHINS FIFTY junior high social studies teachers got to meet the dolphins of Blue Lagoon Island during a two-day workshop event.

The workshop was to give teahers an insight into disaster preparedness - but while at the venue, they got to meet dolphins face to face and learn all about the animals during a dolphin encounter.

After studying hurricane tracking and preparation and hearing from partner agencies on the first day, they spent time in the sea lab classroom on the second day, and took part in a CPR water rescue simulation.

The workshop was coordinated by Blue Lagoon Island, the Ministry of Education, NEMA, The Department of Meteorology, Bahamas Red Cross and the Royal Bahamas

Defence Force.

Tamara Moncur, social studies and history teacher at St John’s College. said the opportunities offered by Blue Lagoon’s education department are ‘phenomenal’.

Sally Johnson, the Ministry of Education’s education officer for social studies, junior high, said: “It is heaven sent to have Blue Lagoon Island partner with us on this project. These teachers are going to be changed.”

THE TRIBUNE

Friday, March 6, 2020, PAGE 3

Border tightens on virus nations from page one

the same protocol for returning citizens and residents, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs noted.

When contacted for comment, Tourism Minister Dionisio D’Aguilar said yesterday he understood the reasoning behind the newly imposed restrictions, adding given the circumstances and visitor numbers from these destinations he was not overly concerned about a fall off in tourism performance.

Visitors from Italy, South Korea and Iran accounted for less than one percent of tourist arrivals in 2019, he said.

The World Health Organisation has indicated that the virus, COVID-19, has now spread to more than 75 countries.

At least 47 of these countries have 10 cases or less, with some reporting their first cases.

“Significantly, however, there is a prevalence of cases emerging in a few selected countries,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ statement said.

“According to the directorgeneral’s March 4, 2020 briefing, almost 90 percent of those cases are from three countries: Iran, South Korea and Italy.

“The data is compelling and out of an abundance of caution, the government of The Bahamas has decided to implement border control and quarantine measures for persons coming from those countries.

“Effective immediately any non-resident who has visited South Korea, Iran or Italy in the last 20 days will be denied entry into

CHINESE: VIRUS UNDER CONTROL

By RASHAD ROLLE Tribune Senior Reporter rrolle@tribunemedia.net

SOUTH Korean soldiers wearing protective gear spray disinfectant as a precaution against the coronavirus in Seoul, South Korea, yesterday.

Photo: Lee Jin-man/AP countries. As it relates to China, South Korea and Iran we are assuming that Country Total cases Total deaths most come by air and not by sea.”

In 2019 there were 13,611 China 80,552

3,042 visitor arrivals from Italy by South Korea 6,284

40 air. As it concerns China, people visited while Italy 3,858

148 3,679 564 came from South Korea Iran

3,513

108 last year.

Iran’s visitor numbers The Bahamas. These coun- maximum of 14 days. Non- were small and considered tries will be added to China, residents currently en route negligible, the minister told for which, we implemented to The Bahamas from these The Tribune yesterday.

Iran had 591 new posisuch measures on January jurisdictions will be sub30, 2020. jected to the same protocol tive cases recorded since with 739 “As such, Bahamian citi- for returning citizens and Wednesday, people recovered from the zens and residents returning residents.” from all four jurisdictions While there were no virus and released from international will now be subjected to reported or confirmed hospital, quarantine measures for a cases of COVID-19 in The media reports said up to Bahamas up to press time, press time yesterday.

All of Iran’s 31 provinces officials said the government is taking extra have been hit with the virus, precautions to protect the that country’s health minsafety and health of resi- istry announced Thursday.

The capital Tehran has the dents and visitors.

Speaking of the new highest number at 1,523, measures, Mr D’Aguilar while the city of Qom, the said: “Those were the three reported epicentre of Iran’s countries other than China epidemic, had 386 conthat were having substan- firmed cases.

In Italy, the death toll tial incidents of the virus COVID-19 has because the feeling was from that there was evidence exceeded 100 and there are more than 3,000 confirmed THE GRAND Princess cruise ship passes the Golden Gate Bridge that there was a failure to cases of the illness. control the virus in those as it arrives from Hawaii in San Francisco. Officials ordered the South Korea has had countries because the cases cruise ship to hold off the California coast yesterday to await more than 5,000 confirmed are exponential. testing of those aboard, after a passenger on an earlier voyage “Very few of our visi- case of COVID-19 and died and at least one other became infected. tors come from those three more than 30 deaths.

Photo: Scott Strazzante/San Francisco Chronicle via AP

STATISTICS FOR MOST AFFECTED COUNTRIES

CHINESE officials predict that by the end of the month no new cases of the coronavirus will emerge from the Hubei province, the epicentre of the disease outbreak, even as local Chinese restaurants continue taking a hit over illness fears.

Huang Qinguo, Chinese ambassador to The Bahamas, emphasised the declining numbers of new COVID-19 cases in China as fears increase over cases in Italy, South Korea and Iran.

“Strong and effective measures have been taken in China,” he said. “The spread of the virus has been effectively controlled in China. By today, March 5, China has a number of confirmed cases of 80,851 and the total cured cases has reached 52,151. About 70 percent of the confirmed cases have already been cured and released from hospitals and currently there are about 25,000 still in hospital because of confirmed cases and the suspected cases have been reduced to 500. Recently, the daily number of new cases has been reduced to less than 200 around China and mainly from Hubei province and the city of Wuhan. Except for Hubei, the increase in confirmed cases has been less than 10 for several days.”

He added: “According to the projection of the experts of China, we believe that by the end of this month the new increased cases out of Hubei province will be lowered to zero and by the end of April the normal daily life will be restored all around China, except in Hubei. Many cities are in the process of restoring their normal daily lives.”

Mr Qinguo said he met two government ministers before yesterday’s press conference.

“Two ministers commended the achievements

made by Chinese government and said they will follow the development of the situation in China closely and revisit the policy of The Bahamas and they will consider to lift the restrictions according to their assessment,” he said.

Around the world, Asians have reported rising xenophobia because of the coronavirus and some Chinese businesses have taken a hit.

“We do receive the reports from the Chinese community here saying that due to the worries about the spread of the virus less people are going to Chinese restaurants to have food,” Mr Quinguo said. “That’s a fact. It’s a natural response that reducing the social contact could reduce the risk of spread of the virus.”

In recent days, there have been many more reported new cases of coronavirus in countries outside China than within that country.

The press conference came a day after the government declared China an “infected” place for six months - making it official policy to prohibit nonBahamian citizens from entering The Bahamas if they have been to that country within the last 20 days.

Health Minister Dr Duane Sands tabled the order in the House of Assembly under the Quarantine Act. It gives the health minister authority to declare any place outside The Bahamas an infected place for a period of limited duration.

Since January 11, The Bahamas has been denying entry to non-residents who visited China. Returning residents are being quarantined for an incubation period of 14 days.

Yesterday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs extended these travel restrictions to residents and visitors coming from Italy, Iran and South Korea.

BAHAMASAIR CONCERNED ABOUT TRAVELLING STAFF

By EARYEL BOWLEG ebowleg@tribunemedia.net

BAHAMASAIR chairman Tommy Turnquest revealed the national airline is concerned about its staff and those travelling amid the global novel coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak.

However, up to press time, there had been no reduction in flights servicing the United States due to the virus. Still he said the airline is taking precautions.

“We are putting in protocols in place with

conjunction with the Ministry of Health,” Mr Turnquest said yesterday.

“We’re concerned about our staff members. We’re concerned about the travelling public. We’re going to take every precaution necessary.”

However, Mr Turnquest said Bahamasair had not noticed any decline as a result of COVID-19 as of yet.

United Airlines and JetBlue Airways have cut their US flight schedules due to the outbreak and is it projected by the International Air Transport

Association that global airlines could lose an estimated $113bn in passenger revenue if the virus continues to spread.

When contacted yesterday, Mr Turnquest said Bahamasair officials have not seen the need to decrease flights to America due to virus cases there, but said it is a “very fluid situation”.

Tourism and Aviation Minister Dionisio D’Aguilar said outside of Cabinet on Tuesday that there was going to be slow down in travel across the

WSC LETTER CLARIFICATION IN the March 5 edition of The Tribune, it was incorrectly reported that Water and Sewerage executive chairman Adrian Gibson reprimanded a union official about his actions in a recent letter.

The article, which ran under the headline “Water union chief ‘suspended for asking if WSC was a plantation,’” stated that Mr Gibson recently wrote to Bahamas Utilities Services and Allied Workers Union leader Dwayne Woods, warning him about holding impromptu union meetings with staff during work hours

and for not working his full eight hour shift.

However the letter in question was written by

WSC general manager Elwood Donaldson, not Mr Gibson. The Tribune is happy to clarify the matter.

planet due to the deadly virus and it will “inevitably” affect The Bahamas.

When asked if there will be a decrease of flights in the future, Mr Turnquest could not say.

“We have to cross that

bridge when we come to it. I can’t speculate on that ma’am,” he said.

According to the New York Times, the virus has infected at least 210 people in the United States and 12 have died. Worldwide, there

have been nearly 98,000 cases and more than 3,300 deaths, the NYT reported, adding that a global database maintained by Johns Hopkins counts more than 53,600 recoveries from the virus.

NOTICE TO: MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC WORKERS’ CO-OPERATIVE CREDIT UNION LIMITED A Special-Call Meeting will be held on FRIDAY, MARCH 27TH, 2020, beginning at 6:00 p.m., at the BAHAMAS PUBLIC SERVICES’ UNION (BPSU)HALL, East Street south (across from Esso gas station); for the sole purpose of electing a NOMINATION COMMITTEE re: the upcoming 40th ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING (scheduled for Friday, May 22nd, 2020).

All ELIGIBLE members are invited to attend!!

PAGE 4, Friday, March 6, 2020

THE TRIBUNE

The Tribune Limited NULLIUS ADDICTUS JURARE IN VERBA MAGISTRI “Being Bound to Swear to The Dogmas of No Master”

LEON E. H. DUPUCH,

Publisher/Editor 1903-1914

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Kt., O.B.E., K.M., K.C.S.G., (Hon.) LL.D., D.Litt .

Publisher/Editor 1919-1972 Contributing Editor 1972-1991

EILEEN DUPUCH CARRON,

C.M.G., M.S., B.A., LL.B. Publisher/Editor 1972-

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Why the laws on disclosures matter to Bahamians IT’S that time of year again – when the asset disclosures of parliamentarians comes into the public eye.

The Tribune has long held MPs’ feet to the fire to meet their legal obligations, whether they are FNM, PLP or independent.

The deadline for this year has come and gone, and it turns out we have a whodunnit to solve. Or rather, a who didn’t do it.

One person has not met the legal deadline. Some were granted extensions, but this one did not meet the March 1 deadline and didn’t have an extension.

So who is it? Well, PLP leader Philip ‘Brave’ Davis says it isn’t any of his officials.

Let’s look across at the FNM benches then where there has been a regular cry of “The law is the law.”

Of course, they have been saying that in regard to marijuana and immigration, but we assume they will be stringently applying the law to hold the person who missed the deadline to account?

After all, we surely cannot have the law applied differently depending on who you are, yes?

Both party leaders have had letters sent to them detailing who disclosed, and who did not do as they were required, but we hope neither needs to name and shame – rather, we hope the person who failed to meet the deadline has the honour to come forward themselves.

This is, of course, only part of the disclosures system. We are, it must be said, in a much better position than in previous years when it might be said lip service was given to the whole procedure. That we are down to only one missing the deadline is progress – but of course it should be none.

The other part of the equation is what is done with that information once it is filed. The Public Disclosures Commission is woefully slow in its handling of the declarations – chairman Myles Laroda noted he had only signed off on the 2018 disclosures last month, and it seems only at election time we get to see such declarations.

These are an important part of keeping government in check. Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis has spoken internationally about the cost of corruption in The Bahamas – well, if we can’t get a clear view of what our MPs and senators are disclosing, how are we to know they are keeping their noses clean?

The process needs more teeth and, crucially, a willingness to use them. The law is the law. The same for one side as the other. The same for prime minister as it is for citizen.

Let’s stop treating this process so lightly, and take it seriously. If we want to tackle the issue of corruption, this is where to start.

A necessary move THE expansion of travel restrictions to visitors from three more countries – Italy, South Korea and Iran – could not ever be welcomed, but we must acknowledge it is a necessity.

With more than 6,000 cases in South Korea, and more than 3,000 in each of Italy and Iran, it is a precaution that seems wise if we are to limit the chances of the coronavirus arriving on our shores.

Thankfully, we do not have a high number of visitors from those countries – Italy being the highest total, with 13,611 last year.

The elephant in the room, of course, is that the next country in the list behind them with regard to number of deaths is our near neighbour, the US. Though there have been more diagnosed cases in Germany, France, Japan and Spain, the US has had more deaths than each of those countries, 12 in all. Its 226 cases are some way behind the 3,513 of Iran, but of course the proportion of visitors who come here from the US is much higher.

What happens, then, if a cruise ship has a passenger diagnosed with the virus, or has a passenger who has come from one of the banned countries?

Keeping one passenger on board ship isn’t just the answer – as they will have been in close proximity to many of the other passengers and crew as well.

Already, the US has ordered a ship to hold off shore, with the Grand Princess cruise ship waiting off the California coast for an all-clear. Do we turn ships away if necessary? Or do they stay in port?

These are the questions we must ponder as we negotiate the hurdles this virus has put upon us – just as it has put a strain on the rest of the world in dealing with it.

There is a long way to go in dealing with this bug – we are going to need patience and level-headedness as we try to do so.

Did Minnis snub GBPA? EDITOR, The Tribune.

I COULDN’T help but notice that none of the executives of the Grand Bahama Port Authority (GBPA) were in a photo with Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis and several Free National Movement (FNM) Cabinet ministers, Lucayan Renewal Holdings Chair Michael Scott and Royal Caribbean and ITM officials at the official signing for the Grand Lucayan Resort.

As the quasi-government for Freeport since the drafting of the Hawksbill Creek Agreement by Wallace Grove and the government in 1955, I would’ve thought that GBPA executives would play a prominent role in the heads of agreement exercise.

Their conspicuous absence from the photo, which went viral on Facebook and WhatsApp, might be interpreted by some as a snub by the Minnis administration, due to an utter lack of confidence in that organisation’s ability to resuscitate the nation’s second city.

Freeport has not been the same since the death of Edward St George in December 2004. He was the mastermind behind many of the significant investments that came to Freeport during the prosperous 1990s.

Since then, Freeport has lagged behind Family Islands Abaco, Exuma, Bimini, the Berry Islands and possibly even Eleuthera that is preparing for that $400 million Disney

investment.

Whatever the merits of the Hawksbill Creek Agreement are, Groves is probably turning in his grave over the sad state of affairs in Freeport.

If the FNM can manage to turn around Freeport, it would accomplish what the two previous governments were not able to do.

Whether one is FNM or a Progressive Liberal Party supporter, Freeport’s economic revitalisation should be fantastic news for every Grand Bahamian.

Indeed, the decades old recession has been politically indiscriminate in Grand Bahama.

KEVIN EVANS Freeport, Grand Bahama, March 3, 2020.

Immigration measures EDITOR, The Tribune.

Re: Jeanne Thompson letter, February 28.

USUALLY, from the general impressions garnered from these articles entered daily in newspapers, it appears that many of them lack the want-tohelp-scenarios…not my articles is fair to say. If we were complaining about someone else, but this is the Rt Hon Prime Minister Minnis. A humble man, whose office door swings open to anyone wanting to meet with him, or give advice and so I am concerned, anytime someone who occupies a prominent position in the country, and knowing diplomacy, ought never as a first resort/expedient to run to the media, when he would have gladly given them a meeting with him to discuss whatever and this type of discipline, is in high demand right now.

I read with interest the article entitled “Offer hope, not blame” by the learned retired Judge Jeanne Thompson, dated Friday, February 28, 2020.

The problem I have is that she has taken the Rt Hon Prime Minister to task for a press statement: ‘We will take our Country back.” I have been following the contributions made by our elected Prime Minister since he won the last General Election in May 2017. And suffice to say, he has made adjustments to all of the Government departments, ministries and offices, is the first point.

Secondly, and he is a man that believes that he cannot and will not make comments on a subject, prior to being debriefed, no matter who the reporter may be asking the questions on a matter/or matters occurring within the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is the second point.

Thirdly, this is a Prime Minister who believes in hitting the ground running, a man that has met with all of the sections involved in the administration of his tenure as Prime Minister and Chief Executive Officer of the Government of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas.

Fourthly, he has collaborated, consulted, embraced, and instructed the leaderships, management, lower-level staffs, from all of the Bahamian people’s entities and about what were expected of them, on the way forward, etcetera, is what a good leader does.

Fifthly, let us not forget that this Prime Minister was ushered into office in one of the largest landslide-seat differentials in a general election victory in the history of our Commonwealth of The Bahamas and the margins were unbelievable. And they are only two years in their governance… now tell me, what

LETTERS letters@tribunemedia.net could have been happening in the country that was so dire that the country sought a catastrophic result, like what we got of the 39 seats, the now opposition, or defunct Progressive Liberal Party walked away with only four seats?

Surely, if we were to ask the defeated Progressive Liberal Party about what they perceived in part caused their defeat at the poles – which perhaps is a good question, what will the answer be?

From what I acquired via the Political Channel, the newspapers, Talk Radio, words on the streets, our country prior to Hurricane Dorian, had had Hurricanes Andrew, David, Jean, Matthew, Hurricane Joachim, Irene, Sandy and others, they left destruction in many islands of this Commonwealth and the government would attest that there was no real programme equipped with sufficient funds to restore the damage.

The economy was in a tailspin from then, not to forget the recession of 2008.

We were also having difficulties with the number of illegal immigrants in the land and the Public Treasury of The Bahamas took quite a hit, funding the repatriations of these illegal Caribbean nationals, back to their homeland. One reminder, the government continues to underwrite and bankroll the expenditure of the government with borrowed moneys. And a good chunk of the revenues derived from the tourism industry are being shipped out of The Bahamas.

There is no doubt that the economy has taken a hit and, therefore, it reflects in the numbers of unemployed Bahamians in the land, but on the other hand, the foreign work permits component, accounts for over 100 thousand working individuals (foreigners), and while fees were being paid, the differentials of funds going out was tremendously more, than intake-to-the-public treasury… when in essence, we have over forty thousand Bahamians not working.

So the question is knowing human nature, a person not working and with no perceived way to eat and pay their household bills, normally will steal if they have to, commit crimes of all types and do any manner of wickedness to survive.

These things are not good for modern societies, there is a breakdown in the family structure, very many things are to be blamed, but it is unfair to say that the Prime Minister is responsible for all the items of decay evident in the land, is wrong and unfair.

The Bible leads us to conclude that lack of sins can

cause all manner of ills, of the likes that we are seeing in our country today.

Finally, prior to Hurricane Dorian, the Prime Minister had numerous visits and conversations with those Haitian Pastors about convincing those Haitian illegal immigrants on Abaco, Grand Bahama, to show proof why they should be allowed to stay?

They were given several grace periods, but never left the country and then, Hurricane Dorian came and we know the result.

It is unfair to expect the government to know who were among the dead from Abaco in those trailers post Dorian. We suspect that very many of those bodies are of Haitian descent/ citizens of the Republic of Haiti, representing the illegal immigrants. As for the pity and help that the learned Judge said was lacking from the Prime Minister, well, he has shown more compassion for the Haitian people than the Government of Port au Prince, Haiti. My Honourable Prime Minister, after the Weather Channel showed a direct path of the storm Dorian going directly over Abaco and Grand Bahama, Prime Minister Minnis, got on the radio and television and told those illegal immigrants living in those two areas identified, “to please leave and save yourselves, not to worry about the immigration situation…please leave and don’t let this be the last time you hear my voice”.

If that is not offering hope and showing compassion, I do not know what is.

Finally, God gave every nation its country, its boundaries and all that it needed to live, but many countries’ citizens have squandered their talents and now they went seeking countries that appear to have much, and what do you suppose will happen to those countries that these people are seeking to enter illegally and to plunder? If the laws are not enforced, these illegal immigrants will most definitely over-run and destroyed the countries, like they have done their own…is this the kind of compassion you want, Judge? What then will the next generation of Bahamians have? Already we have thousands of Haitians in our country, available in our school systems and wherever employment can be had, competing with ordinary Bahamians, is it fair?

We do not think so. What then ought Prime Minister Minnis do? He was not elected by the Republic of Haiti, but the electorates of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas.

Editor, I rest, this is a no brainer. Thank you for the space and opportunity to air these several points.

FRANK GILBERT Nassau, February 29, 2020.

THE TRIBUNE

Friday, March 6, 2020, PAGE 5

Experts seek to map out storm surge for The Bahamas

By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

JANELLE Brown outside Magistrates Court yesterday.

Photo: Shawn Hanna/Tribune Staff

WOMAN ACCUSED OF FAKE MARRIAGE TO HAITIAN MAN

By FARRAH JOHNSON fjohnson@tribunemedia.net

A 26-YEAROLD mother has pleaded guilty to charges of participating in a fraudulent marriage to help a Haitian man get a Bahamian spousal permit.

Janelle Brown was charged before Magistrate Samuel McKinney with committing a fraudulent marriage; making a false declaration of marriage; fraud by false pretences; possession of false documents; uttering false documents and conspiracy to commit fraud.

Brown told police she was paid more than $1,000 to carry out the scheme.

The court heard Brown entered into a fake marriage on August 11, 2015, to get a spousal permit from the Department of Immigration. and a marriage certificate from the Registrar General’s Department by means of false pretences.

Brown was also accused of being found in possession of a marriage certificate bearing the name Jessica Newbold and Lugens SaintAude, knowing it was not genuine.

She and Saint-Aude were also charged with conspiracy to commit fraud by false pretences between August 11, 2015, and March 20, 2017.

Saint-Aude, who was charged before Chief Magistrate Joyann Ferguson Pratt in relation to the matter on Wednesday, was not present at yesterday’s

arraignment.

Brown was further accused of uttering a spousal permit at the National Insurance Board bearing the name Lugens Saint-Aude, with the intent to defraud.

She pleaded guilty to all the charges and the matter was adjourned to April 6.

Bail was denied and she was remanded to the Bahamas Department of Correctional Services. She has the right to apply to the Supreme Court for bail.

The prosecutor, Assistant Superintendent Barrington Miller, said Jessica Newbold went to the Registrar General’s Department on July 12, 2019, to register her newborn child.

There, it was brought to her attention who the father of her child was and that she was married, but the father’s name was not on the certificate.

However, the prosecutor said Ms Newbold informed the person at the Registrar General’s Department that she was not married nor had she ever been.

As a result, Ms Newbold left and went to the Financial Crimes Unit to file an official complaint.

ASP Miller said an investigation into the matter led to Brown’s arrest.

During an interview under caution, Brown admitted to using the name Jessica Newbold.

She also told police her name was in fact Janelle Brown and admitted that during the course of the marriage, she never lived with Saint-Aude.

Brown also told police

that she was paid $1,500 for her participation in the fraudulent marriage.

The fake marriage took place on August 11, 2015.

Brown received a marriage certificate that same day. She also obtained a spousal permit from the Bahamas Department of Immigration.

Sometime later, she went to NIB along with a male to have him registered where he was issued an NIB smart card.

According to ASP Miller, as a result of the investigation, Brown was further cautioned and charged and entered a guilty plea.

Brown was represented by attorney Anthony Newbold.

He told the judge up until now Brown, a cashier at Wendy’s, had been a model citizen.

He also noted that his client was a mother of four children aged nine, seven, four and two and said something had to happen to drive her to the extent to do the things she admitted to.

Newbold asked Magistrate McKinney for the opportunity to apply to the Department of Social Services for a report on Brown’s circumstances and living situation. He insisted the report would put the court in a better position to render judgement.

In response, Magistrate McKinney granted the counsel’s request to have a social inquiry made into Brown’s status and position to give her attorney the opportunity to present a mitigation plea on her behalf.

ONE PERSON FAILS TO SUBMIT DISCLOSURE from page one “complied” with the law.

The deadline for disclosing is March 1 each year.

Elected and appointed officials were given until Monday to disclose, as the deadline was a non-business day.

Early last month, Mr Laroda said officials had

shown interest in fully complying with the requirement.

“A few weeks ago, I signed off on letters and enclosed declarations to members of Parliament and senators to disclose their assets of December 31, 2018, and so we await to see what transpires in that period,” he told The Tribune at the time.

“I have gotten calls from

a few parliamentarians just requesting certain information of what they should do in providing documentary evidence with regards to certain assets.

“All of the parliamentarians submitted their declarations for the year that was outstanding,” he also said when asked about MPs and senators’ compliance with declaring assets.

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A STORM surge model project for inundation mapping over The Bahamas will start in 2021 and will be developed over two years by the National Hurricane Centre, it was revealed yesterday at the Sustainable Grand Bahama Conference.

Kenneth Graham, National Hurricane Centre Director for NOAA’s National Weather Service (NWS), said it is the first time the project is being announced, and that the model will allow for storm surge watches to be issued for the Bahamas by 2023/2024.

He said it is very critical because storm surge is the “leading” cause of deaths associated with hurricanes and tropical systems.

“I wanted to announce for The Bahamas today we will start the project in 2021 and hope to be done in 2023,” he told persons gathered at the Pelican Bay Resort for the three-day conference hosted by the University of the Bahamas North.

“We will have storm surge capability inundation and the ability to issue storm surge watch for The Bahamas. The vision is to go all way across the entire region. It is really important because it is the leading cause of fatalities.

“So, this model will allow us to see some inundation mapping over The Bahamas in a hurricane. It will

take us years to get there, but I want to let everybody know that we are working on that.”

Last September, The Bahamas recorded the highest ever storm surge casualty during Hurricane Dorian, particularly in Grand Bahama and Abaco.

The official hurricane death toll is 74.

Mr Graham has been with the NHC for some 26 years and has gained experience during some of the most catastrophic storms, including Hurricane Katrina and Floyd which triggered the largest storm evacuation of some 2.6 million people in US history.

He indicated that evidence supports that water is a more deadly factor than heavy wind. “From 2012 back to 1963, water is the result of 90 percent of the fatalities, we have the evidence,” he added.

In light of this, the NHC had undertaken and completed an extensive storm surge model project of the entire US coastline.

According to Mr Graham, it has taken 10 years for them to get to the point where they can issue storm surge watches and warning and inundation mapping in the US. He noted that extensive work is required, which includes understanding the symmetry, the depth of the water, the land underneath, and the elevation.

“We just finished storm surge watch and warnings in the US with inundation mapping. We have only

been doing it for a year.

For Puerto Rico we got it done for the 2019 season and Southern California for this season - this is the first place I told anybody.”

They are now are expanding the project to other areas. They have a pilot project in the Dominican Republic and are looking at Haiti, and the Yucatan.

Mr Graham said they will start building the model for the Bahamas in 2021. “The model itself takes a long time and it is very complicated - it took us 10 years to do the US coastline. So, we are hoping by 2023, or at least by the hurricane season 2024, we will have that complete.”

He explained that it will provide information about how high the storm surge could be and what areas are going to flood before the storm makes landfall.

“To be able to do that days in advance allows for a lot of preparation. It is interesting because storm surge is so dependent on the size and speed of the storm. It’s not just wind, it is the forward speed of the storm.

“This model will take 1,000 different scenarios, and build them in so no matter if that hurricane turns a little to the left or right, if it gets bigger or smaller, or slows down a bit, the model is not going to change. That is why it is so important that people see the value and you can plan on those values.”

The conference ends on March 7.

PAGE 6, Friday, March 6, 2020

THE TRIBUNE

PRIME Minister Dr Hubert Minnis being shown around the newly installed engine at Blue Hills Power Station yesterday. The engine will produce at least 30MW of energy.

New engine added at Blue Hills to help bring end to load shedding

By LEANDRA ROLLE lrolle@tribunemedia.net IN an effort to end load shedding in the capital, Bahamas Power and Light yesterday added a new engine to its Blue Hills Power Station, a move officials say will also help improve the country’s energy production.

Speaking at yesterday’s ceremony, BPL chairman Donovan Moxey said the new GE TM2500 engine is a “game changer” for BPL and the Bahamian people, adding it will aid in fixing long-standing problems experienced by BPL consumers.

“Bahamians have had to put up with unreliable electric utility,” he said. “It’s made it harder to do everything from running our

businesses and to cooking dinner in our homes and we recognise that we are committed to fixing this.

“That’s why we built Station A. That’s why we’re building Station D at Clifton Pier and that’s why we’re all here today. “…The new TM-2500 here at Blue Hills will introduce a new technology into the mix in a way that we expect will contribute to our focus on minimising fuel consumption and add significant generation capacity.

“All of these machines will be switched to LNG as soon as the re-gas facility is available. That’s a turnaround in efficiency, output and environmental sustainability of which Bahamians can be proud.”

The issue of load shedding has been longstanding

THE NEW engine at Blue Hills Power Station unveiled yesterday.

Photos: Shawn Hanna/Tribune Staff problem for BPL consumers throughout the years.

Last summer, residents in

New Providence suffered almost daily load shedding since June 19, causing many consumers to take to social media to express their outrage over the matter.

In an effort to resolve the issue, BPL installed seven new multi-fuel engines at its Clifton Pier Power Station A electricity plant.

Now along with this new machine, Mr Moxey suggested the power provider will have sufficient supply in order to meet summer demands.

“Let me add and reassure here, even before Station D is completed next year, our generation capacity is already growing by leaps and bounds. Station A adds an additional 132 megawatts, all of which will be available in time for this summer,” he continued.

“This new GE machine adds at least 30 megawatts to that on top of the current availability which hovers around 190 megawatts,” Mr Moxey said. “That means

we will have over 352 megawatts available against the summer peak of 260 expected megawatts. There will be (an) end to load shedding…”

Noting that the government is also committed to ensuring reliable power for all, Prime Minister Dr Hubert Minnis told yesterday’s attendees that the engine will help “usher in a new energy future” for the country.

“What we witnessed last summer was a symptom and a poor legacy of a collapse that started at BPL many, many years ago,” he said.

“My government made a decision not to make any more short-term decisions when it came to BPL and to energy generation and distribution in our country.

“With this generator, Station A and the renewed focus on solar energy, we are doing the smart and fiscally prudent things that must be done to ensure reliable power for all of new

Providence.

“This generator will be added to the battery of improvements to our power generation and it is fiscally smart.”

He continued: “There is still work to be dome, but with every step we take, we are getting closer to the fundamental promise of reliable and cost-effective energy for the residents of New Providence.”

Also commending the move at yesterday’s ceremony was Works Minister Desmond Bannister, who added: “After a brutal and debilitating summer in 2019, it’s good to stand here in 2020 and see the light at the end of the tunnel.

“Ladies and gentlemen, as BPL stated the intention to get out of the base load generation business for the island of new providence within the next two years, the government supports this move.

“This will open the market for Bahamian business to participate in the independent power producer section. However, BPL also intends to create a mix of generation assets and sources that will take advantage of renewable energy and allow for the reduction of the country’s carbon footprint.

“These assets are currently undergoing winter maintenance as part of BPL’s dynamic winter action plan and will be ready in time to support the summer peak loads.

This demonstrates the company’s strategic and considered approach in the short term. “…In the long-term, BPL is focused on doing its part to satisfy the government’s mandate of 30 percent

‘RAGGED ISLAND HAS NOT BEEN ABANDONED’

By LEANDRA ROLLE lrolle@tribunemedia.net

WORKS Minister Desmond Bannister yesterday assured the government is not abandoning residents of Ragged Island, noting that a number of projects are lined up to assist with the restoration efforts there.

“What I said in the House of Assembly is possibly by the end of this year (or) early next year, Ragged Island is going to have the prototype for schools in the Family Islands,” he said yesterday.

“It’s going to have one of the best schools anywhere in this county. It’s going to have a community centre.

It’s going to have a hurricane shelter. The buildings are going to be protected up to 180 mph, which is (the standard for) very few buildings in this country.

“And it’s going to have residences for the teachers, that they are going to be state of the art plus the solar so I don’t know if that

is neglect. That is progress as far as I’m concerned.”

He was asked to respond to criticism from Ragged Island residents who, earlier this week, told The Tribune that they felt “neglected” and “disappointed” with the lack of progress since Hurricane Irma in 2017.

Residents say government essential services, a school, clinic or police station among other things remain absent there.

As a part of the government’s plans to redevelop the island, Prime Minister Dr Minnis said his administration would transform Ragged Island into the “first fully green island in the region.”

The government has since awarded a contract to Tugliq Energy Corporation to construct an electrical grid to bring renewable energy to the storm-ravaged island.

Speaking at a ceremony held at Bahamas Power and Light yesterday, Mr Bannister said the government was

pleased with the progress being made on the island.

“We’re especially pleased with the progress of the Ragged Island micro grid which represents the first solar based load generation in BPL’s history, and which is already seeing the first solar power set from the solar field to the power grid as of last week,” he said.

“Similar steps are planned for Andros, Eleuthera and Inagua where together with Ragged Island, these plans will serve as a learning laboratory for BPL to allow for better understanding of how to cost effectively implement solar solutions in the Bahamas.

“As a government, we’re investing $100 million in solar projects in the Bahamas over the next five years. We intend to ensure that the abundant natural resources in the Bahamas are captured and exploited in a sustainable and sensible way starting with our natural sunlight,” he said.

THE TRIBUNE

Friday, March 6, 2020, PAGE 7

PLP leader asks police to probe ‘violent’ meme

By LEANDRA ROLLE lrolle@tribunemedia.net PLP LEADER Philip “Brave” Davis wants the police Cyber Crime Unit to investigate a “violent” internet meme made about him and find the persons responsible.

Mr Davis spoke out after a meme was circulated on social media showing him blowing a whistle while a gun was being held to his head. The meme was in response to comments Mr Davis made on Tuesday, when he proposed the government should provide women and children with whistles to help deter crime.

Yesterday, Mr Davis said of the meme: “It suggests an act of violence and it suggests that the FNM trolls are making light of the issue that is happening with our crime situation today. This is no joke and I think the Cyber Crime department for the Royal Bahamas (Police Force) should look into that and see where it originated and hold those persons who are accountable and responsible for it.”

The Progressive Liberal Party also released a statement on the issue, criticising “FNM trolls” for publishing the meme. “…It is an act of violence and a threat to create bodily harm which should be condemned by all rightthinking individuals,” the statement read. “The FNM must publicly disassociate itself from these acts of violence. This is no time for this stuff. It is unacceptable.”

When asked about it yesterday, National Security Minister Marvin Dames insisted that “threats of harm” or any sort of violence made towards anyone will not be condoned.

“Threats of death against anyone is a serious matter,”

he told reporters yesterday.

“I would say to anyone who feel threatened or has been threatened by anybody that you should take that matter to police.

“Report it (and) have it investigated. Let the police determine where to go from there, you know I’m not going to stand here and condone these kinds of behaviours on the part of anybody and you know.”

“It’s not the way that we need to be going.”

Suggesting that the matter warrants an investigation, Mr Dames urged the affected party member to report the incident to the police.

“I don’t know the nature of the report of who it is who may be making these threatening remarks over social media but as I said before, threats of deaths or threats of harm against anyone will not be condoned and ought not be condoned,” he added.

“So, I would again say to those persons who are receiving these threats to go by way of the law, report the matter and have it investigated.”

Mr Davis’ whistle suggestion made him the butt of jokes and backlash on social media this week. Clarifying the matter to reporters yesterday, Mr Davis said many law enforcement officials encourage women to use whistles “as an alarm” to draw public attention to their distress.

“My suggestion of a whistle was not just plucked out of thin air. If they were to research the issue of an alarm when persons are in distress, they would find that a survival kit that is given and is suggested for women to have on them, it includes a whistle,” he continued.

“You check in England and the United States and

POLICE HUNT FOUR ROBBERS POLICE are looking for four armed men who robbed a group of people inside a Soldier Road business Wednesday night.

The incident took place shortly before 10pm.

Police said four armed men entered an establishment on Soldier Road, west of Windsor Place, and robbed four

adults of cell phones, jewellery, cash and other personal effects before escaping.

Anyone with information should call the Central Detective Unit at 502-9991/2, Crime Stoppers at 328-TIPS (8477) or the nearest police station.

Investigations are ongoing.

Celebration of A Gem Service For

BARBARA ELOISE BUTLER, 83

of #35 West Avenue, off Carmichael Road, will be held on Saturday, March 07, 2020 at 10am at Bethel Baptist Church, Meeting Street. Rev. Dr. Timothy Stewart, assisted the Associate Ministers will officiate, burial will be in the Church Cemetery, Meeting Street.

they all recommend that a whistle or some sort of an alarm and that alarm equates to a whistle be included in a survivor’s kit and one just need to do the research and find that that is not something that is just plucked out of the air.”

LEADER of the Opposition Philip Davis.

Photo: Terrel W Carey Sr/Tribune Staff

PAGE 8, Friday, March 6, 2020

THE TRIBUNE

Blow a whistle to mark arrival of silly season A Comic’s View

PLP leader Philip ‘Brave’ Davis, who has had his own share of criticism this week over whistles, pictured with party chairman Fred Mitchell.

By Inigo ‘Naughty’ Zenicazelaya “SILLY Season” is officially open, so let this week’s column serve as notice.

I’m back to doing what I do, reminding you politicos, it’s open season, be very careful of what you say.

The eyes and ears of the nation are wide open, and the voting populace is wide awake!

So to all you incumbent MPs from the leader of the present administration, right down to a certain “Suspect Senator” in the senate, with gigantic political aspirations.

To the minuscule opposition with, its “Brave” whistle blowing leader (oh the irony) with his illusions of grandeur and all.

Be forewarned, as always I’m only using what you put in the public domain, so if you have a bout of “foot in mouth disease”, it’s on you, let the chips fall where they may.

Now, since you all get a free pass until next week, FNM, PLP, DNA and the rest of the political ‘wannabes’ trying to make a ‘cameo’ in ‘Silly Season’ let’s enjoy a few jokes about the hot topic of the week in Bahamaland... whistles, because next week it’s in, and the jokes on you.

‘WHISTLE’ ONE LINERS A redneck with a bucket full of live fish, was approached recently by a game warden in Georgia as he started to leave a lake well known for its fish.

The game warden asked the man, “May I see your fishing licence please?”

“Naw, sir,” replied the redneck. “I don’t need none of them there papers.

These here are my pet fish.”

“Pet fish!?!?”

“Yep. Once a week, I bring these here fish o’mine down to the lake and let ‘em swim ‘round for a while. Then when I whistle, they swim right back into my net and I take ‘em home.”

“What a line of baloney…you’re under arrest.”

The redneck said, “It’s the truth, Mr Gov’ment man. I’ll show ya! We do this all the time!!”

“WE do, now, do WE?” smirked the warden.

“PROVE it!”

The redneck released the fish into the lake and stood and waited.

After a few minutes, the warden said, “Well?”

“Well, WHUT?” said the redneck.

The warden asked, “When are you going to call em back?”

“Call who back?”

“The FISH,” replied the warden!

“Whut fish?” asked the redneck.

• My boss warned me that I shouldn’t blow the whistle in the office anymore. He gave me one last chance.

But unfortunately, I blew it!!

I know, I know it gets worse!

• I bought a wooden whistle...

But it wooden whistle So I bought a steel whistle...

But it steel wooden whistle Then I bought a lead whistle...

But it steel wooden lead me whistle!

• I was peeing in the pool and the lifeguard blew his whistle.

Scared me so bad I almost fell in.

• I was walking with my girlfriend when a random guy whistled at her and said “nice ass”. She was clearly annoyed and demanded I say something.

So I turned around and said: “Thank you, I’ve been doing squats.”

Until next week, just as a reminder for you all that ‘Silly Season’ is tiki upon us, I will leave you with a great quote from, legendary comedian Groucho Marx “The only problem with political jokes, is they get elected.”

READERS REACT TO NEWS OF THE WEEK Readers have been posting their reactions to the stories making the news this week on tribune242.com.

After Tourism Minister Dionisio D’Aguilar said Grand Bahama is poised for a near six-fold increase in visitor arrivals from two projects that will be “the catalyst for tourism’s rebirth” on that island, Moncurcool posted this reaction: “Cruise ship passengers do not benefit the local economy they benefit the cruise lines. My question however, relates to the 3,000 jobs. Are these 3,000 permanent jobs, or 2,500 construction jobs and only 500 permanent ones? Are

they the high paying ones, or again the low end ones?”

Education Loan Authority chairman Miriam Emmanuel wouldn’t say if Senator Ranard Henfield was accurate about repaying his student loan to the government, suggesting the authority is still awaiting proof from him.

B_I_D___ posted this response: “Typical Govt agency that can’t keep proper records. It happens

all the time, over and over again, NIB comes back to employers for proof of an employee’s contributions because they have no record of them . . . low and behold, it had been paid.

You are asking this individual to find a silly piece of paperwork from 16 years ago? Do better Bahamas!!”

And after the government allocated $1.2m for Hurricane Dorian related restoration efforts that fall under the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture, including the clean up of the Kendal G L Isaacs National Gymnasium, Jus2cents said: “Probably needed a good refurbishment before the evacuees went there!”

Shonkai posted this comment: “Not the evacuees’ fault, but the authorities’ for not having adequate shelters in an island nation which is in the way of hurricanes almost every year.”

And there was this from Sheeprunner12: “Meanwhile . . . NO plans to create real hurricane shelters in the 30 inhabited islands . . . Wonder what will be on NEMA’s list come May when they post ‘hurricane shelters’ for the country.”

• Don’t miss your chance to join the debate on tribune242.com.

THE TRIBUNE

Friday, March 6, 2020, PAGE 9

Humane Society urges people to report all animal attacks

By EARYEL BOWLEG ebowleg@tribunemedia.net A BAHAMAS Humane Society official is urging people to report all animal attacks to police after two recent pit bull attacks on humans.

According to BHS General Manager Percy Grant, police have recently been taking action on complaints about dog attacks but the problem is that some incidents go unreported.

He also dispelled speculation that pit bulls are more prone than other dogs to attacking people, saying mixed breed dogs are usually the ones to attack. He did urge pit bull owners, however, to ensure their dogs are properly confined in their yards to avoid them escaping to attack other animals.

“A lot of times people don’t report things (animal attacks) properly,” Mr Grant said. “They prefer to go to Facebook and make a bunch of noise. They do not

call the police, go and make a statement to the police station as required and then follow it up ….”

He added: “Most likely the dogs will be confiscated but a lot of people don’t go through the right channels and this is the reason why it takes forever for sometimes cases to be solved because people just like to talk but they don’t the right thing.”

Mr Grant said Animal Control has taken away many canines that have attacked other dogs and owners have to pay

compensation as legally outlined. He also pointed out that some dog owners are not taking the proper precautions to confine their dogs and prevent them from attacking other animals.

“As we require just for the ordinary adoption from the Humane Society one of our criteria is a fenced in yard, cement dividing the perimeter, and cage and people just fail to do that.

They fail to fix holes, they fail to close gates behind them. So, you know this is the result of what happens.”

On February 21, a woman was taken to hospital after being attacked by three pit bulls in Pinewoods Gardens. Last week officials confirmed the owner was released from custody. It was also reported recently that an elderly man in Grand Bahama was attacked by the same breed.

However, the BHS general manager said dog attacks on humans are not just exclusive to pit bulls and happens with “all breeds.”

“Pit bulls particularly

when it comes to animals, rarely you have cases of pit bulls attacking humans,” he said.

“You have more mixed breeds attacking humans.

There are some times humans get in the way because pit bulls are you know they’re probably trying to attack another dog.

“Maybe they’re walking their dog and they’re trying to get the pit bull from attacking or keep the pit bull from attacking their dog. But pit bulls are bred for you know for fighting.”

THREE YEARS’ JAIL FOR SABOTAGING JETLINER BOUND FOR THE BAHAMAS MIAMI Associated Press

A VETERAN airline mechanic was sentenced Wednesday to three years in prison for sabotaging an American Airlines jetliner with 150 people aboard in a bid to earn overtime fixing the plane.

In sentencing 60-yearold Abdul-Majeed Marouf Ahmed Alani, US District Judge Marcia Cooke said she found no evidence to support allegations that Alani had links to the Islamic State extremist group or any terrorist organisation. Those allegations had surfaced in previous hearings.

“The indictment doesn’t charge anything related to terrorism or terrorist activity,” Cooke said. “I don’t see anything.”

Alani is a naturalized US citizen originally from Iraq who had been an airline mechanic for 30 years.

Prosecutors said he has a brother in Iraq who may be involved with the Islamic State group and that Alani had made statements

wishing Allah would use “divine powers” to harm non-Muslims. There were also Islamic State videos found on his cellphone, they said.

But Assistant US Attorney Randy Hummel said investigators found “no linkage” between Alani and any extremist groups.

“I do think the evidence suggests extreme recklessness,” Hummel said.

Court documents show the sabotage involved gluing Styrofoam inside the nose of a Boeing 737 at Miami International Airport so that it disabled a component pilots use to monitor things such as airspeed, altitude and the pitch of the plane. Authorities say if the flight had taken off as planned July 17 for Nassau, Bahamas, the sabotage could have caused a crash.

Instead, the pilot saw an error message while the aircraft was on the runway and returned to the terminal to have the problem examined.

“I firmly believe that the deliberate tampering ...

of my aircraft would have exposed my passengers and crew to a higher level of danger had the aircraft gone airborne,” the pilot, Richard Shafer, said in a court filing.

Many of Alani’s actions that day were captured on surveillance video and he was identified by fellow workers.

His attorney, Jonathan Meltz, said the mechanic’s goal was to keep the aircraft on the ground so he could work overtime to fix it, which he did. Meltz said Alani was in dire need of money for his children’s college expenses and other needs.

“The intent for Mr Alani to have committed this act was solely financial,” Meltz said.

Alani, in chains and dressed in a tan jail outfit, did not speak in court. But in a letter to the court, Alani said he was “truly sorry” for his actions.

“I knew better and I am better than what I did,” he wrote. “There is no excuse for what I did and I am so sorry.”

CHAPPY KNOWLES

BUSINESSMAN AND ROTARIAN CHAPPY KNOWLES DIES

By DENISE MAYCOCK Tribune Freeport Reporter dmaycock@tribunemedia.net

WELL-KNOWN Grand Bahama businessman Chappy Knowles has died.

“It is with great sadness and a broken heart that we inform you of the passing of our employer, mentor, adviser and friend, and the shops namesake Chappy,” according to a statement released Thursday.

“Chappy has been a pillar in the community of Freeport for years and

has helped many people on their journey in life.

He was a long standing member of the Rotary Club and a founding member of Calvary Bible Church – Freeport. He will not easily be forgotten,” the statement read.

Mr Knowles, according to the statement, has battled with Muscular Sclerosis for more than 30 years.

“He is in the loving arms of his Saviour Jesus Christ and, in knowing this, we are comforted because he suffers no more. We ask that you keep those close to

him in prayer, especially his loving daughters, Tabitha and Tara, their husbands and sons. He is with his lovely wife, Maryann, in Glory. May his soul forever rest in peace.”

Mr Knowles was the former owner and operator of LMR Drugs and Minimall, downtown, which he operated for many years before selling the business several years ago. After selling the business, he opened a small operation in East Sunrise Highway and went into semi-retirement.

AMERICAN Airlines aircraft are shown parked at their gates at Miami International Airport in Miami.

Photo: Wilfredo Lee/AP

PAGE 10, Friday, March 6, 2020

We were warned, didn’t listen and now must face the consequences

I’M WRITING this on a Sunday midday knowing full well the numbers will change by Friday when you read it.

As of now, there are 87,000 cases of coronavirus. That’s 2,000 more than there were 20 minutes ago.

The death toll stands at nearly 3,000 and no doubt will jump while I continue to write and monitor.

The Louvre just closed

By Diane Phillips its doors. America’s smallest state, Rhode Island, reported its first case.

Infections have been confirmed on every continent except Antarctica.

THE TRIBUNE

ENVIRONMENT campaigner Joseph Darville

While The Bahamas holds its breath, the Minister of Health has been keeping the country informed with constant dashboard updates.

Coronavirus is scary.

Unlike other varieties of flu, its unprecedented contagiousness threatens far more than our health.

It threatens everything we have come to take for granted - that shelves will be full AN AIRLINE passenger when we go shopping, wears a mask in the that medicines will be terminal area of Orlando widely available when we International Airport on need them, that the hassle recovWednesday in Florida. in travel will be taking ery Many travellers are wearoff our shoes not fearing expenses ing masks because of the being quarantined for 14 afterward.

Climate and coronavirus outbreak. days because someone Photo: Stephen M Dowell/ on the same flight or ship health events are largely out of our Orlando Sentinel via AP showed symptoms.

It threatens America’s control. Both make wildly booming stock us feel powerless. market and it dashes the They are simply too big dream of a five-year-old for us to handle alone. We who was counting the days can’t push back the waves begging us to go back to until she could go to Disney or stop the onslaught of a building boats because we World in Tokyo only to pandemic. will one day face a Noah’s There is something Ark dynamic with rising hear her parents try to explain why it closed for else they cause us to do seas. and that is, stop to think two weeks.

Darville has beseeched us about how unself-suffi- to grow our own vegetables In a word, cient we are. and raise our own chickens coronavirus ‘Darville has We depend so we can feed ourselves is an interon others for when the unthinkable like rupter.

It’s beseeched us to just about the coronavirus cripples the worse for grow our own everything those who are vegetables and supply chain. we need for infected and He reminds us that our everyday before we get too chuffed worst of all raise our own lives. We no at the way we live now, for those who chickens so we longer grow commending ourselves for lose a loved can feed ourselves our own food the ability to swipe a card one to it. But or catch our and consume all we want for the rest of when the own fish or without applying a lick of the world, it unthinkable like sew our own labour, to think back to interrupts the the coronavirus clothes. When how Grammy and Grampy life we have it comes to lived. They swam, they been living, cripples the doing for fished, they grew food, they oblivious to a supply chain.’ ourselves, we celebrated the harvest of set of germs don’t. We let their own labour. that, microothers do the scopic as they are, would We know we cannot repwork and we monetise the licate that lifestyle and we throw us so off our paths that we are tipsy, trying to reward. are not downplaying its Yet for the last seven hardships and challenges. find our balance and figure out how best to move for- years, one man has con- But right now, as we cancel ward. We deliberate over stantly warned us of the non-essential travel, stocktravel plans and event dangers of this dependency. pile cases of tuna and get Joe Darville, Long Island ready to hunker down, we attendance.

We juggle a dozen deci- born and raised, educator, might just stop and think sions that weren’t even on counsellor, humanitarian, about Joe Darville’s pleas environmental and human for each of us to ensure our radar a day ago.

In other words, it’s a lot rights advocate, now a every child can swim and like hurricanes. Empty Grand Bahamian who has to help others overcome shelves, price-gouging, been beating the drum their fear of the water, to attractions and excursions through Save The Bays take growing a bit of food closed, hotel occupancy and Waterkeepers and the in a community vegetable falling, airlines and cruise many other hats he wears garden seriously and to ships scrambling itiner- urging us to teach our chil- restore the art of boataries, planned budgets dren how to swim so they building in The Bahamas. shredded and massive can survive hurricanes, As events reminding us of our dependence on the outside world interrupt our lives, we have to hand it to our forebears. Climate change and coronavirus are converging to teach IF YOU’VE parked near the domestic terminal at us Grammy and Grampy LPIA lately, you may have noticed the addition of flawere a lot smarter than mingoes flying through the clouds. The design, which we knew. They just did for mimics a flamingo installation inside the airport making themselves and if they are up part of its extensive art collection, now appears on a in heaven looking down on screen concealing the area where the old terminal was us now, they might just be finally demolished. How easy it is to turn ugly into beauwagging their finger saying, tiful. Kudos to NAD, airport operators.

‘We told you so’.

NAD, SMART ON THEM, OR HOW TO MAKE A CONSTRUCTION SITE APPEALING

THE TRIBUNE

Friday, March 6, 2020, PAGE 11

SANDERS STRUGGLES TO EXPAND SUPPORTER BASE AFTER WARREN EXIT

By STEVE PEOPLES and ALAN FRAM Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — It took Joe Biden’s moderate rivals just hours to unite behind his presidential campaign after they left the race.

Bernie Sanders hasn’t been so fortunate.

Elizabeth Warren, one of Sanders’ closest ideological allies, declined to endorse anyone after suspending her campaign on Thursday. She didn’t rule out an endorsement of her New England neighbor but said she wanted to “take a deep breath and spend a little time on that.”

High-profile Warren supporters across the country, particularly women, were also hesitant to race into Sanders’ camp. And on Capitol Hill, where Biden was racking up new endorsements daily, the Vermont senator hasn’t earned a single new endorsement, even among the most progressive elected officials, in two weeks.

The dangerous silence from Warren and progressive officials across the country comes at the worst time for Sanders, who’s suddenly losing momentum in a two-man race with the former vice president as another set of high-stakes primary elections looms.

Sanders is moving forward with the same coalition that was beaten soundly earlier this week. And if he cannot find a way to grow, and grow quickly, the Vermont senator’s 2020 challenge will only become more dire.

Frustration There is an increasing sense of frustration within Sanders’ campaign, where a divide over strategy has emerged between opposing camps, according to a person close to the campaign who spoke on condition of anonymity to disclose private discussions.

One one side, campaign manager Faiz Shakir wants to empower the pool of existing supporters, such as progressive congresswomen Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Rashida Tlaib, because of their organic appeal to voters.

On the other, senior adviser Jeff Weaver is pushing for a wider range of endorsements to broaden Sanders’ coalition.

Within the campaign, some lament Sanders’ unwillingness to court elected officials as Biden’s coalition grows exponentially. The former vice president earned endorsements this week from three former rivals just hours after they suspended their campaigns: Pete Buttigieg, Amy Klobuchar and Mike Bloomberg. Another former competitor, former Texas Rep. Beto O’Rourke, also endorsed Biden on the eve of Texas’ primary, which Biden narrowly won.

Biden’s team has already announced plans to dispatch Klobuchar, a Midwestern moderate, to Michigan ahead of the state’s critical primary election on Tuesday.

Many would-be Sanders supporters, meanwhile, are taking a wait-and-see approach.

Adam Green, the cofounder of the Progressive

DR. DEBORAH BIRX, left, the coronavirus response coordinator, and Dr. Anthony Fauci, centre, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, with Vice President Mike Pence, right, as they walk on Capitol Hill in Washington (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

BERNIE Sanders and Elizabeth Warren. (AP) Campaign Change Committee, said the organisation would ultimately endorse whomever Warren does.

“We are among her many supporters who are rooting for her to exert every ounce of leverage she has in this moment of goodwill in order to advance the big ideas and the people she cares so much about,” Green said Thursday.

He said Warren, a former Harvard law professor and expert on the legalities of contracts, would approach the decision carefully and that process “might be time-intensive or it might not be.”

The National Organization for Women, whose political action committee endorsed Warren earlier in the week, encouraged Warren to take her time.

In an interview, NOW President Toni Van Pelt urged Warren not to endorse Sanders.

“She has a lot of leverage right now. We do trust her to make the right decisions on how to proceed. But we’d like her not to rush into this,” Van Pelt told The Associated Press.

“We think that our constituents, our members, will not necessarily think of Sanders as the best choice. We wouldn’t have the Violence Against Women Act if it wasn’t for Biden’s leadership,” she con-

JOE Biden tinued. “Sanders doesn’t have a record. He’s really, as far as we know, done next to nothing for women and for our issues.”

Sanders has the public support of nine members of Congress, yet he has earned no new endorsements since Feb. 20. Biden has won at least 26 this week alone.

One of Sanders’ few allies in Congress, Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., said Thursday that Warren’s support would be “a game-changer.”

“But that’s her decision to make,” he said.

Khanna said it has been difficult to line up congressional endorsements for Sanders because “he was seen as such a long shot” originally. He and other Sanders supporters have hosted a half dozen “salons” — evening gatherings in Washington with groups of 10 to 15 lawmakers — to try to generate new support.

“He very much values these endorsements,” Khanna said of Sanders.

Outreach But relative to his rivals, Sanders and his senior team have not invested as much time or energy into courting influential Democrats or their networks. Sanders’ team suggested their outreach would grow substantially after Super Tuesday, yet there has been little sign of a strategic shift in recent days.

Sanders’ allies concede that his unique candidacy presents challenges as they try to grow.

Specifically, his core message rails against the political establishment. And by definition, elected officials are part of the establishment.

“It is hard to wage a war against the political establishment and win their support.

Bernie was always going to do this on the backs of the grassroots movement,” said Neil Sroka, of the group Democracy For America, which endorsed Sanders this week.

One potential bright spot: Sanders in the coming days is expected to win the backing of the Working Families Party, which endorsed Warren last fall. The group declined to weigh in on a possible endorsement immediately after Warren’s exit on Thursday but has publicly signaled support for both Warren and Sanders.

Former Democratic presidential contender Marianne Williamson, who endorsed Sanders last month, decried the wave of establishment support for Biden. She called it “a coup” on social media, but in an interview, she suggested that Sanders could do a better job of expanding his coalition.

She said Sanders did a better job four years ago speaking to “the needs and aspirations of white, workingclass people.”

“I do hope that more effort will be made to make it clearer that his positions, his platform and his policies uplift every working and would-be working person.

That was clear last time, and I wish it were clearer this time,” Williamson said.

PENCE PLEDGES TO ‘LEAN INTO’ FIGHT AGAINST CORONAVIRUS

By AAMER MADHANI ASSOCIATED PRESS CAMP MURRAY, Wash. (AP) — Vice President Mike Pence pledged Thursday that federal officials would “lean into” the fight against the new coronavirus as he visited with a leading maker of masks being used to stem the spread of the virus. He asked Americans to refrain from buying masks unless they’re sick.

“You should know we’re ready and we’re going to continue to bring the full resources of the federal government to bear to confront the spread of the coronavirus in the United States,” Pence said after meeting with 3M CEO Mike Roman and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz at the company’s global headquarters just outside Minneapolis.

“I do have a word to the average American about how you can help as well,” Pence said. “Unless you are ill, you have no need to buy a mask.”

Surgeon General Jerome Adams echoed the same message from Washington as he spoke to Fox News before a virus task force meeting at the White House, saying: “”My advice to folks: Stop buying masks if you’re part of the general public. Leave them for the health care providers so they can take care of people who are sick.”

The vice president has been tasked by President Donald Trump to coordinate the U.S. government’s response to the outbreak, which has put many U.S. communities on edge and scrambled global financial markets.

The disease has killed 12 in the U.S. and infected dozens more.

“President Trump and I and members of our task force and industry leaders are ensuring that we have sufficient amounts of testing materials available across the country, whether it be working with nursing home operators across this country or today here at 3M,” Pence said. Pence then flew to Washington state to meet with Gov. Jay Inslee and state officials, who gave the vice president a tour of the State Emergency Operations Center in Camp Murray. Several emergency workers greeted Pence with elbow bumps rather than shaking hands.

The Seattle area has been the region hardest hit within the U.S., with at least 70 confirmed cases and 11 deaths. Most of those who died were residents of Life Care Center, a nursing home in Kirkland, a suburb east of Seattle. Researchers say the virus may have been circulating undetected for weeks.

Trump had been scheduled to hold campaign events in Minnesota and Wisconsin on Thursday but scrapped those plans to focus on the coronavirus response.

PAGE 12, Friday, March 6, 2020

THE TRIBUNE